Continuous Flow Intersection is an at-grade signalized intersection which can be considered as a sub level between grade separated and at-grade intersections. The principle behind this intersection is that the main conflicting traffic, i.e. the right-turning traffic is segregated from the main traffic flow at the intersection. Instead this traffic is carried to a bay which runs through the opposite traffic. The right-turning traffic is carried through a crossover intersection approximately 180-200 metres upstream of the main intersection i.e. at this pre-signal the right turning vehicles will change their lane and get separated from
the major flow . The main advantage of this intersection is that for a CFI (CFI on two approaches), there is a phase reduction resulting in only 3 phases for a 4-arm intersection increasing the green time for each approach thus enhancing the capacity of the intersection and about the delay we will see in further. The major advantages of CFI are listed below. As said earlier, there is a single phase reduction for CFI. This traffic signal phase reduction in CFI results in less delay, fewer pollutants and lower fuel consumption than the conventional 4-Arm intersection. The intersection can easily handle more volume and is efficient in terms of land use. Thus it avoids the construction of grade-separated intersections at a later stage. It doesn’t demand even an extra inch of land to be implemented which is a very positive property of this innovation and it maybe fruitfully used in a space crunched country like India.